Staff Pick

Giant, horny, hungry mantises and a teenage boy questioning his sexuality are main threads I bet you never thought you'd find in the same book. This book is absolutely wild in the best possible way, and Edgar Wright (yes, Edgar Wright!) is working on what's sure to be a killer movie adaptation. Recommended By Kayla T., Powells.com

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments

In this truly shocking, grotesquely original coming-of-age, end-of-the-world novel, sixteen-year-old Austin Szerba interweaves the legacy of his family's history in Poland and immigration to the United States while narrating the story of how he and his best friend brought about the end of humanity and the rise of an army of unstoppable, human-sized (six-foot-tall) praying mantises in small-town Iowa.

To make matters worse, Austin's hormones are totally oblivious; they don't care that the world is in utter chaos: Austin is in love with his girlfriend, Shann, but remains confused about his sexual orientation, stewing in a self-professed constant state of maximum horniness, directed at both Robby and Shann. Ultimately, it's up to Austin to save the world and propagate the species in this sci-fright journey of survival, sex, and the complex realities of the human condition.

Review

“Original, weird, sexy, thought-provoking and guaranteed to stir controversy. One hell of a book.” Michael Grant, New York Times bestselling author of the Gone series

Review

“Andrew Smith is the bravest storyteller I know. Grasshopper Jungle is the most intelligent and gripping book I've read in over a decade. I didn't move for two days until I had it finished. Trust me. Pick it up right now. It's a masterpiece.” A. S. King, Printz Honor-winning author of Ask the Passengers and Please Ignore Vera Dietz

Review

"A meanderingly funny, weirdly compelling and thoroughly brilliant chronicle of 'the end of the world, and shit like that.'...In a cannily disjointed, Vonnegut-esque narrative, the budding historian weaves his account of the giant-insect apocalypse in and around his personal family history and his own odyssey through the hormonal stew that is adolescence." Kirkus, starred review

Synopsis

In the small town of Ealing, Iowa, Austin and his best friend Robby have accidentally unleashed an unstoppable army. An army of horny, hungry, six-foot-tall praying mantises that only want to do two things.

About the Author

Andrew Smith is the award-winning author of several young adult novels, including the critically acclaimed Winger and The Marbury Lens. He is a native-born Californian who spent most of his formative years traveling the world. His university studies focused on Political Science, Journalism, and Literature. He has published numerous short stories and articles. Grasshopper Jungle is his seventh novel. He lives in Southern California. You can learn more at authorandrewsmith.com and follow him on Twitter: @marburyjack.

3.33

What Our Readers Are Saying

Average customer rating 3.3 (3 comments)

Grasshopper Jungle 5 stars is an absurd, touching, honest, funny and creepy story. Mostly, it is absurd, but it is the emotional coming-of-age element that is memorable for me. I am sure most 15 year old males, however, would argue that the humor and sexual angst make the story. Austin is a very befuddled teenager trying to figure out life, love and his future. He records his thoughts and many fears in a journal in which he also chronicles, in delightful detail, the goings on of his small dying rural Iowa town. The story starts out as a typical YA realistic fiction, turns briefly into a bioterrorism thriller, and then morphs into a hilarious B movie monster horror story. Along the way it satirizes hypocrites, big agribusiness and politicians. Poor Austin is so overwhelmed by his conflicted love interests, even when the town is being decimated by six foot man-eating bugs, he is most worried about who he really loves and if he will ever be happy. Because the story is told from Austin's point of view, the other characters are not developed in any depth at all. Austin is way too self-absorbed to have more than superficial relationships, but Austin is a loyal and devoted friend who does not want to hurt anyone's feelings which makes his love triangle all the more stressful for him. The ambiguous ending was a disappointment. Austin's conflict is not resolved, just neatly wrapped up. Was that to leave room for sequels or did Andrew Smith chicken out?

Wow, that was fun. This unsuspecting title by an author I’d never heard of about a mantis-apocalypse hitting small town Iowa stole my interest from beginning to end. Grasshopper Jungle is the funniest book I’ve ever read. It also portrays the best friendship I’ve ever read. The narrator, Austin, is complex, unwilling to look at the world the way society wants him to, and plays the perfect part of historian, recording two events that alone could make great books, but which together fit perfectly into a story that blends the horror of an apocalypse with the emotional turmoil of a 16-year-old in love with both of his best friends.
Austin’s observational nature takes the narrative from first person to a god’s eye view with ease. While the recording of his and the people of his town’s genealogy can rabbit trail, they often end in a hilarious joke or a profound experience which fits an underlying message about humanity that I’m still trying to get a grip on. The book discusses how bugs do only two things, eat and procreate, and a question subtly posed throughout is whether humans are any different. Austin is a horny, selfish teenager, fighting himself to become more than just a bug. The open exploration of his sexuality may not appeal to everyone, but I found his honesty fascinating.
That’s the thing I loved most about Grasshopper Jungle, Austin’s honest, eye-opening experience. One of his best friends, Robby, is an open homosexual. I loved how Austin loved his friend regardless. Their friendship was beautiful in this way. Austin struggles with his feelings about Robby, especially because he loves his girlfriend just as much. This conflict and how he has no one to talk to about his confusion is the center and most interesting aspect of this story.
The six-foot-tall mantises roaming around killing people plays a strong secondary plot and the author does a fantastic job recognizing this aspect as secondary. Their takeover and the mystery behind how Austin and Robby will try to stop them is exciting and horrific, but is summarized well enough to show us the danger without taking us from the central narrative of what Austin will do to keep his two best friends.
Grasshopper Jungle has made me a big fan of Andrew Smith. His narrative is so easy to read. The humor, emotion and adventure all work so well together to making this book one I couldn’t put down. His story telling style is unlike anything I’ve read, with its heart-bleeding honesty and ease of blending story with humor. As soon as I finished Grasshopper Jungle, I picked up his darker tale, The Marbury Lens. I look forward to catching up on all of his books.